Printing machine



Oct. 10, 1944. c. J. HUEBER 2,359,354

PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 10, 1944. I c HUEBER 7 2,359,854

PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 ll Sheets-Sheet 3 ,Z'vm/niorx Karl 11/121256? Jflu 1% eye 0a. 10, 1944. c. J. HUEBER 2,359,854

PRINTING MACHINE 4 Filed June 22, 1942 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 QUE. 1, 19. c, J HUEBER v 2,359,854

PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 ll Sheets-Sheet 5 N a; 0 k o M Q Q *1 o Ln N N & N

Carl Jjfueber @cfi. 1Q, 1944. Q, J, HUEBER PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 l1 Sheets-Sheet 6 @ct. W, 1944. Y c. J. HUEBER PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 ll Sheets-Sheet 8 WNW 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 W/Sw. v

C. J. HUEBER PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1942 r /MW 2i nJ Z A Patented Oct. 10, 1944 UNITED STATES PA'l ENT OFEICE 34 Claims.

This invention relates to printing machines through which a series of printing devices may be passed seriatim to a printing position Whereat impressions may be made from the devices, and more particularly this invention has to do with a mechanism to be used in such printing machines to enable a plurality of impressions to be made in succession at different locations upon a sheet advanced through the machine.

In the use of printing machines of the aforesaid character it is customary to employ printing devices having a series of lines of printing characters disposed upon the printing device with the lines one above the other in Whatmay be termed a single column, and the printing impressions are usually made from the printing characters on the printing device so that these printing characters are printed upon the sheet or form in precisely the same arrangement. Such printing machines are so constructed that the printing devices are withdrawn one by one from a supply magazine and are advanced in a stepby-step manner to a printing position in the machine. At such printing position, the sheet or form, or a manifold arrangement of a plurality of paper sheets and carbon paper, is disposed in the desired relationship to the printing device and while the printing device remains stationary at printing position suitable impression means are operative to make the desired printing impressions from the type characters of the printing device onto the sheet. Various arrangements have heretofore been provided whereby selected portions of the type characters carried on a printing device might be printed to the exclusion of other type characters, and hence the printing devices in many instances may embody considerable information pertaining to a particular subject or person, and selected parts of this information may be printed as desired. The information carried'by the printing devices is advantageously arranged so that it is adaptable for the most common uses to which such printing devices may be put. Thus, for example, a printing device may embody the name, the street address and the city and state of residence of a person to which a particular device relates, and in addition there ma be a fourth line of type characters constituting a salutation whereby the name and address data and the salutation may be printed upon a letter which is to be sent to the particular person to which the printing device pertains. Further or different data may of course be embodied in such a printing device either at the ends of the lines in which the aforementioned data are embodied, or in additional lines of type characters or in special applications, numerical and other data may be included on the device.

In other instances the printing devices employed with such printing machines may be adapted for use in a variety of accounting operationsto produce related records or documents, and many of such documents may be advantageously produced by what are called listing operations on a printing machine of the aforesaid character. Where the printing devices are intended for use in payroll work, each printing device may carry lines of printing characters which set forth the name of an employee, related identifying data such as his address and social security number, his normal rate of pay upon an hourly, weekly, or other basis, the various deduc tions to be made from the employees pay for each payroll period, and, in the event that the employee works upon a fixed salary basis, his gross salary, and his net salary after the stated deductions may also be included in words, or figures, or both. Such printing devices may also be used for accounting operations in banks, trust companies, insurance companies and the like,

'in which case the data carried by the printing devices will, of course, vary in accordance with the particular uses for which they are intended.

Where printing devices bearing data of the various classes as aforesaid have been utilized in listing operations such as the preparation of payroll sheets, or sheets of dividend checks, payroll checks or the like, it has been customary to clamp the sheet, or a manifold arrangement of sheets, in the shiftable paper holder of the listing apparatus, which is commonly referred to as a lister, of which the single column lister shown in the patent to Curtis, No. 2,186,010, patented January 9, 1940, or the multiple column lister shown in my copending application, Serial No. 10,097 filed September 8, 1941, are exemplary, so that the paper holder and the sheet or sheets clamped thereon are advanced in a step by step manner from an initial or loading position to a succession of other positions the last of which constitutes the terminal position in which the final initial positions for removal and replacement of" and a further object related to the foregoing is to so form such a flexible element that it may be readily and easily entered into an operative association with a return actuating means,

the sheet and it is a further important object ofthis invention to effect return of the paper holder of a lister, and the sheet or sheets carried thereby, to the initial or loading position by powerthereby to facilitate the replacement of such connecting elements.

Such a connecting element of the advancing means for the paper holder which is thus replaced in a lister mechanism to obtain different linespacing movement is, under the present invention, utilized as a connecting means through which the return actuating movement is transmitted from actuating means on the lister frame to the paper holder, and through which the exactuated means, and an object related to the foregoing is to enable such return movement to be effected automatically.

to it initial or loading position, the paper clamps thereof must be released so that the completed sheet may be removed therefrom, and to further simplify the use of such a lister it is anobject of this invention to release the paper clamps automatically when the desired printing operations have been completed, and more specifically, to accomplish such automatic release as an incident to' the return of the paper holder to its loading position.- I

In the use of a lister with a printing machine it may be desirable in manyinstances-to skip, or in other words,- to avoid printingin one or more spaces of the 'form, and toenable this-to be readily and easily accomplished is a further object of the invention. Other objects-related to the foregoingare'to enable spacing or advancing movements to be imparted manually to the paper holder, to enable power actuated return movements ofthe paper holder to be initiated readily and easily from any one of the operative positions of the lister, and toenable the means for attaining such manually manual spacing or manually initiated return movements to be incorporated in a simple and easily connected structure. a

A listingmechanism of the kind towhich the present invention pertains must, as a practical matter, be readily adaptable for use with forms embodying different line spacing dimensions, and in prior listers such as that shown in theaforesaid Curtis patent, and such as that shown in my aforesaid copending application, this has been advantageously accomplished through the use of replaceable elements which act as a portion of the advancing means for the-paper holder and which maybe formed to provide for the desired line spacing movements. A further object of this invention is to enable such replaceable elements -of a lister to control the initiation of the return movement of'the paper holder, and another object is to enable'such a replaceable element not only to control the automatic return of the paper holder but also to interrupt and stop the operation of the printing mechanism upon completion of thelast printing impression on a sheet.

The replaceable connecting elements shown in the aforesaid Curtis patent and in my aforesaid copending application are relatively flexible in characterand function to actuate the paper holder in but one direction, and a further object of this invention is to enable such flexible connecting elements to impart both advancing and return movements to'the paper holder Of alister;

tent of such return movement is accurately limited,'and under such circumstances the manner 'of association between the connecting element and the return actuating means must not only be such as to enable such controlled return movement of the paper holder to be attained, but also must be of such a character as to facilitate replacement of the connecting element, and toenable this to be accomplished is a further object of the invention.

A further object of this invention is to constantly bias the paper holder of a lister in a return direction toward its initial or. loading position and to afford means for controlling the biasing means inv such a manner that either automatic or manually controlled return movement of the paper holder may be eflected.

Other and further objects of the present invention will-be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a .preferred embodiment and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be thebest mode in which I have contemplated applying-that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes maybe made as desired by those-skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and tho-purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig.- 1 isa perspective viewof a printing machine equipped in accordance with the present invention for the listing of type matter or printing characters onto a sheet;

Fig. 2 is a .fragmental'plan view of the printing machine shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating further details of the lister mechanism, and showing a different embodiment of the paper holder.

Fig. 3-is a fragmental sideelevational view of the printing machine showing further details of the lister mechanism;

Fig. 4'is aschematie wiring diagram illustrating certain features of the control means;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 of Fig. 1 and illustrating features of interior construction of the lister;

Fig, 6 is a plan section taken substantially along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 isa fragmental plan view of 'a portion of the lister mechanism showing the control elements in the same position which they occupy in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line 8-8 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a .fragmental vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 99 in Fig. 8;

Fig, 10 is a. fragmentalsectional view taken Substantially-along the line Ill-40 in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a fragmental view illustrating someof the parts shown in Fig. 8 moved to different positions;

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line |'2--|2 in Fig.

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line .|3|3 in Fig. 5;

Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are views similar to Fig. 5 and illustrating the control elements in different positions which they occupy in the course of operation of the lister;

Fig. 17 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line in Fig. 14;

. Fig. 18 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line |8--|8 in Fig. 17;

Fig. 19' is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line 9--| 9 in Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is an enlarged elevational View of the lister actuating member, a portion of the member being illustrated in vertical section to show features of internal construction;

Fig. 21 is a fragmental plan View of a portion of the actuating member;

Fig. 22 is a plan view of the replaceable connecting member of the lister;

Fig. 23 is an enlarged plan view of the paper holder shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 24 is a section View taken along the line 24+24 in Fig. 23;

Fig. 25 is an end elevational view showing the right end of the paper holder;

Figs. 26 and 2'7 are fragmental views of the left hand end of the paper holder showing the automatic clamp releasing means in different positions; and

Fig. 28 is a sectional view taken along the line 2828 in Fig. 23.

General description In the form chosen for disclosure herein, the invention is embodied in a printing apparatus comprising a printing machine 40 having a listing device 4| operatively associated therewith in such a manner that a sheet or form F, or a manifold arrangement of a plurality of sheets and carbon paper, mounted on a paper holder 42 of the lister 4| may be shifted to the printing position of the machine in a step by step manner in timed relation to the operation of the printing machine, thereby to enable successive printing impressions to be spaced from each other on the form F in a direction from top'to bottom of the form. The listing device 4| is unitary in character and is so related to the printing "machine ill that the listing device 4| may be quickly and easily placed in the desired operative relation upon the printing machine 40, or may be quickly and easily removed from such operative association when the desired listing operations have been completed. The listing device 4! of thepresent invention is such that the operator may perform the listing operations with unusual facility, and in attainin this result the listing device 4! of the present invention includes means for automatically returning the paper holder of the lister to its forward or loading position when the listing operations upon a particular sheet have been completed. The lister of this invention also provides for manual advancing or spacing of the form, and for manual rather than automatic initiation of the return movement of the paper holder to its loading position. The arrangement of the listing device 4| is such that it may be used upon sheets or forms having difierent line spacing arrangements, and the adjustment of the listing device to condition it for usewith forms having .a. difierent line spacing maybe accomplished readily and easily by the usual operator of the machine. When the listing device of the present invention has been adjusted so as to performlisting operations with a particular form or with a particular spacing of impressions, the listing device may be removed from and then replaced upon the printing ma chine without disturbing such adjustments.

Insofar as the present invention is concerned, the particular form and arrangement of the printing machine 40 are in most instances im material, but for purposes of disclosure the printing machine 40 is illustrated as being of the type wherein a series of individual printing devices D, each bearing printing means thereon, are advanced one by one from a supply means such as an upstanding magazine M to a printing position which is provided in the machine and which is indicatedin Figi2 by the dotted line position of the printing device D. The magazine M is located upon and supported by a printing machine frame 43 which, in the form shown, is generally desk-like in character so as to provide a table top T upon which a sheet or form F may be supported over the printing position and beneath an impression "means such as a platen mechanism P for the performance of printing operations with respect to the form. In the operation ofthe printing machine 40, the printing devices D are withdrawn one by one from the bottom of the magazine M and are advanced in a step by step manner along asuitable printing device feed path beneath the table top T until each printing device comes to rest at printing position. While the printing device D is at rest at the printing-position, the platen mechanism P is operated to produce a printing impression from all or selected portions of the type characters embodied in the printing device. After one or more printing impressions have been made from the printing device, it is further advanced so as to be discharged into a collecting means such as a drawer K. The printing machine 40 which is herein disclosed-is fully illustrated and described in my copending application, Serial No. 388,998, filed April 17, 1941, and hence the printing machine will be described herein only insofar as the particular mechanisms thereof are directly related to the operation or functioning of the lister 4|.

In the use of the lister 4| the paper holder 42 is located in its most forward or loading position of Fig. 1 at thetime when a form F is clamped therein, and as an incident to the first cycle of the operation of the printing machine 49 the paper holder 42 is actuated in a rearward direction in an amount sufilcient to properly position the upper line or section of the form F opposite the printing position, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, so that during the latter portion of this operation of the machine; a printing impression is made upon the upper line or section of the form F. In successive cycles of operation of the printing machine the form F is similarly advanced in a. direction 42 andthe completed form in adirection' forwardly of the machine so that the paper holder 42 is located in'its most forward or loading position, and. in theform of the invention shown in Figs. 2 and 23 to 28, the paper clamps are automatically released as the paper holder reaches its loading position, thereby to facilitate reloading of the paper holder.

The printing devices The printing devices D may be of many different types, and the characteristics of the print ing devices must of course be related in every instance to the construction and operational characteristics of the printing machine. For use with the printing machine 4!! herein shown a.

printing device of the character disclosed for example in Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,132,412, patented October 11, 1938, may be employed. In other instances, where a different construction and arrangement is provided in a printing .machine, a different type of printing device such as that shown in Gollwitzer Patent No. 1,992,661, patented February 26, 1935, may be employed. In other instances the present invention may also be employed with printing-machines which utilize printing devices of thestencil type wherein a thin sheet of stencil paper is incorporated in a protective carrier or frame. Since printing devices of the various types above mentioned are well known in the art, no specific description or illustration thereof will be'incorporated herein. It may be observed, however, that such printing devices are in many instances classified into a relatively large number of groups or classes, and such classification may be attained through the use of suitable identifying meansat selected identifying positions on the printing devices. In the present instances the printing devices may bear one or more identifying tabs 65 disposed at selected positions along their upper edges in the general manner disclosed in the aforesaid Gollwitzer Patent No. 2,142,412, and it will be observed that while a relatively large number of identifying positions are available along the upper edge of each printing device, there is but a single tab 65 illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The sheet or form The lister of the present invention may be employed for listing operations with forms having avariety of different line spacing arrangements or dimensions. A manifold arrangement of a plurality of sheets and carbon paper may, of course, beused, and such a manifold arrangement is contemplated as being generically included where-reference is hereinafter made to a sheet or form. In the particular embodiment illustrated herein the lister is adapted for use in producing checks 66 which are afforded by separable parts, or sections of the sheet or form F. The several checks afforded in the sheet or form F are in the present case joined by perforated lines 61, and the spacing 68 of the lines 81 constitutes what may be termed the line spacing dimension of the form F. Where the lister 4| isemployed in the production of checks 66 or the like the printing devices D usually carry type matter which prints the name of the payee as well as the amount of the check in words and figures, and in addition, a check number, the date, and thesignature may be printed simultaneously at 69, III and II, respectively, through the use of auxiliary printingmeans governed by a control plunger I2 in a: known manner. The numberof checks 66 included in a sheet or form F may vary, of course, and in the lister herein disclosed, the mechanism is constructed and arranged to handle forms F including five checks 66 of the-dimensions illustrated- The printing machine The printing machine herein illustrated is of the type wherein the impression means isprovided by a platen mechanism P, and this platen mechanism is supported in an operative relationship above the table top T by 'a rigid printing frame I25, the specific construction of which is illustrated and described in my Patent No. 2,275,439, patented March 10, 1942. The printing frame I25 is in the present case disposed so as to projectupwardly from the tabletop T at a point locatedat a considerable distance rearwardly and to the right of the printing position, and the printing frameextends forwardly at an angle of substantially 45 degrees with respect to the forward edge 43' of the printing machine framea43, thereby: to locate a head I30, fixed on the forward end of .the printing frame, directly over'the printing position. The magazine M is located just to the right of the vertically extending portion I 25 of the printing frame I25'and the printing devices B are advanced from the bottom of the magazine M ina forward direction and then along asuitable guide path beneath the table top T to the printing position. The particular arrangement of the advancing path is disclosed in my'aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 398,988. The advancing means of the printing machine are arranged to advance the printing devices in a step by step manner such that each printing device comes at rest at a. plurality of different stations along the printing device guideway, and in the present machine the first of these stations constitutes a sensing station at which suitable identifying means such as tabs 65 maybe sensed .to determine whether or not each printing device carries such atab'at one or more selected identify ing positions thereon. The sensed presence or absence of such a tab when the printing device is at sensing station may be rendered operative to control subsequence operations of the machine, and particularly may be rendered active to control the operation'of the platen mechanism P when the printing device from which the sensed indication is derived reaches printing position. The-selector mechanism whereby such controlling action is attained is but fragmentally shown in the present drawings wherein a control plunger I26 is shown' on the front panel of the machine for rendering the selector mechanism active or inactive as desired. Further details of the construction and operation of the selector-mechanism may be had by reference to my copending application, Serial No.'392,151 filed May 6, 1941.

The platen mechanism-P is herein illustrated as being of the form which is utilized in the printing machine shown in my copending application Serial No. 388,988, and in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,275,439, and this platen mechanism is described in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 361,530, fi1ed October 17, 1940; The platen mechanism P comprises a carriage C supported for reciprocation in a direction from front to rear of the printing machine along a guideway provided by a guide plate I30 mounted beneath the head I30 of the printing frame I25, and the platen roller PR is supported on and carried by the carriage C. The platen roller PR is arranged in a horizontal position at right angles to the path of reciprocation of the carriage C, that is, parallel to the forward edge 43 of the printing machine frame. The platen roller PR is supported by means such as toggles I3I so that the platen roller may be shifted from a normal elevated or inactive position wherein the platen roller may be effective to press a sheet orform F into printing cooperation with a printing device D disposed at printing position.

The platen mechanism P, in the form disclosed,

is arranged so that the platen roller is in its elevated or inactive position when the carriage C is in its rearward or at rest position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. When a printing operation is to be performed the carriage C is actuated in a forward direction through an idle stroke, and in the course of such forward movement of the carriage C the toggle means I3I are actuated to shift the platen roller PR to its lower or active position. The platen roller PR reaches its lower or active position at substantially the time when the forward structure of the carriage C has been completed and the toggle means are then latched so as to maintain the platen roller in its lower or active position during the return or rearward stroke of the carriage C. Hence during the rearward or active stroke of the carriage C the platen roller PR may be rolled across the sheet or form to effect the desired printing operation. As the platen roller PR approaches the rear end of its stroke and has completed the desired printing operation, it is withdrawn to its elevated or inactive position so that the sheet or form may be readily shifted, or removed and replaced. V v

' The actuating means for the carriage C is described in detail in my aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 361,530, and for present purposes it is sufficient only to point out that this actuating means includes a horizontal rock shaft I32 mounted in the printing frame I rearwardly of the head I thereof and parallel to the forward edge 43. The rock shaft I32 has an arm I33 fixed on one of its ends, and a vertically extending operating link I34 extends upwardly from beneath the table top T and is connected to the arm I33 so that through vertical reciprocation of the actuating link I34 a rocking movement may be imparted to the shaft I32. At its other end the rock shaft I32 has a downwardly projecting arm I35 fixed thereto and this arm I35 is operatively connected to the carriage C by a pair of actuating links I36. At the end of a machine cycle the arm I35 is located in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and when the platen mechanism P is to be driven through an operative printing cycle the shaft I32 is first rocked in a counterclockwise direction so that the lower end of the arm I35 to which the links I36 are connected is moved in a direction forwardly of the printing machine, thereby to actuate the carriage C in a forward direction through the inactive portion of its cycle. The rocking movement of the shaft I 32 is then reversed so that the shaft rocks in a clockwise direction thereby to withdraw the carriage C in a rearward direction through its active or printing stroke.

In normal use of the printing machine the various operative cycles of the machine are normally initiated by selective manipulation of controlmeans such as a plurality of foot pedals I43,

MI and I42, Fig.1, which are disposed near the floor beneath the printing machine frame 43. The pedals I40, MI and I42 are disposed in or adjacent to the knee-hole opening of the desklikeframe 43 so as to be conveniently accessible for manipulation'by an operator seated immediately in front of the forward edge 43' of the printing machine frame. The foot pedals I40, MI and I42 are rendered active selectively to initiate the desired machine cycle by momentary depression of the selected foot pedal, andwhen thus actuated may serve to initiate different types of single cycle operations of the various actuating means which are embodied in the printing machine. These actuating means are fully described in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 388,988, and reference may be had to this copending application for details of construction and operation of the actuating and control means of the printing machine. Forpresent purposes it is suificient to point out that the printing machine 40 is driven by a motor I45, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4, which is energized through a switch I46 controlled by a plunger I41 located in the forward or control panel of the printing machine'as shown in Fig. 1. The drive motor I operates through suitable speed reducing means to'drive the main actuating element (not shown) of the machine, and when any portion or mechanism of the machine is to be driven through an operating cycle, this main drive element is conneoted to a normal stationary drive shaft to rotate the drive shaft through a single revolution. When the drive shaft is thus being rotated it may be connected so as to drive the printing device advancing means or the platen mechanism P, or both, and such selective connection is governed by the foot pedals I40, MI and I42. The foot pedal I40 serves to cause single cycle operation of the printing device advancing means, and since such operation of the printing device advancing means may take'place without operation of the platen mechanism P, this foot pedal I40 is often 7 termed the skip pedal of the machine. The foot pedal'I4I serves to cause operation-of the platen mechanism P and since such operation of the platen mechanism may take place without operation of the printing device advancing means, the foot pedal MI is often termed the repeat pedal. It will be understood that the actuation of the various foot pedals is momentary in character since it is necessary to allow the foot pedals to return to their normal positions in order to terminate operation of the machine at the end of one cycle.

The foot pedal I42 is arranged, when momentarily depressed, to cause simultaneous or timed operation of the printing device advancing means and of the platen mechanism P, and since such operation results in the performance of but a single printing impression from each printing device D, the foot pedal I42 is usually termed the consecutive pedal of the printing machine. The term consecutive as applied to the foot pedal I42 is however merely a term of convenience, since the printing machine 40 as disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 388,998 embodies means whereby the printing device advancing means may be automatically disabled in certain cycles'in a predetermined sequence such that a predetermined number of printing impressions may be made from each printing device. Such automaticcontrol mechanism may be terrned th multi-print mechanism "of the printing machine, and while such mechanism is not usually employed with a lister of the type to which the'present invention pertains, there may be instances where such mechanism may be advantageously used inlisting work, and it should therefore be observed that such multi-print mechanism in the printing machine herein disclosed is rendered operative or inoperative under control of a plunger .IBI located in the front or control panel of. the printing machine frame.

Printing machines of the type disclosed herein oftenembody means for causing printing of only predetermined or selected parts of the information or type matter carried'on each printing device.D, and various expedients may be employed to attain each selection. In the printing machine 40 shown in the present drawings this result is attained through selective manipulation of the platen roller'PR, and this manipulation is attainedautomatically as disclosed in detail in my. copending application Serial No. 361,530. Such automatic selection or variation of the automatic cut ofi action of the platen roller PR is usually unnecessary in the listing operations performed by listers of the type to which the present invention pertains, but instances may arise where such action is desirable. In this connection it is to be noted that a plurality of platen faces PF may be provided. at angularly spaced locations about the axis of the platen roller PR and the platen faces are of such a size as to effect printing cooperation withthe desired por tions of the type matter. As disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 361,530,

the automatic platen mechanism may be ren-' dered active or inactive through adjustment of a control knob I10 which is located on the printing frame rearwardly of the head I thereof.

In certain uses of the vprinting machine 40, such for example as in the use of a listing device such as that to which the present invention pertains, use may also be made of a means which causes continuous operation of the printing machine and which automatically stops operation of the printing machine when certain undesired conditions are detected. Such means may be termed the auto-stop mechanism of the printing machine,- and thisauto-stop mechanism is fully disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 388,998. Since reference may be had to said copending application for details of construction and operation of the auto-stop mechanism, it will suffice for present purposes to point out that the auto-stop mechanism is under control of a plunger I80 mounted in the front panel of the printing machine, and,'when the control plunger I80 is withdrawn in an outward. direction, means is effective to actuate the mechanism associatedwith the consecutive, pedal I42. Thus the platen mechanism and printing device advancingmechanism will, in the absence of a dominating controlling action of the selector mechanism, operate continuously so long as the auto-stop plunger I80 is retained in its outer or withdrawn position. The auto-stop mechanism, as described in the aforesaid copending application Serial No. 388,998, embodies means for returning the auto-stop member I80 to its inward position, thereby to terminate the continuous op eration of the printing machine.

As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, this means comprises a solenoid I 8I arranged to be ener-.

gized whenever an undesired operating condition is detected by any one of a plurality of detecting means which may be provided in the machine. When the solenoid I8I is thus energized the control plunger I is moved to its inner position. Thus, wires I83 and I84 andan intermediate conditioning switch I85 serve to connect one terminal of the solenoid I8I to one Side of the motor circuit between the motor I45 and the motor switch I46. The other side of the motor circuit is connected by a wire I85 to one terminal of a control switch I81, the other terminal of the switch I81 being connected by a wire I88 to the other terminal of the solenoid I8I. The control switch I81, may, of course, be governed by any desired detecting means, but as herein shown this switch is governed by a detecting finger I89. The detecting finger I89, as disclosed in detail in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 388,998, is arranged as a detecting means associated with the magazine M, and in each cycle of operation of the printing device feeding means the finger I89 moves into contact with the edge of the lower printing device in the magazine M. The switch I81 is a normally open switch and when the detecting finger I89 engages a printing device in the magazine M, it is ineffective to close the switch. I81. When, however, the last printing device has been withdrawn from the a magazine M, the detecting finger I89 closes the switch I81 and thereby energizes the solenoid II and cause the auto-stop mechanism to stop the machine. The continuous operation of the-printing machine under the control of the auto-stop means may, in many instances, be modified through the dominating action of the selector mechanism, as disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 392,151. Thus when the selector mechanism is operative there will be certain cycles of operation of the printing machine wherein the platen mechanism will remain inactive. Hence while the printing machine will maintain its continuous operation under such circumstances, certain printing devices D will be skipped. The auto-stop mechanism, as will hereinafter be described in detail, is utilized under the present invention to cause automatic stopping of the printing machine when the printing ofa Form F has been completed.

The listing mechanism 'The lister M of the present inventionincludes a main housing 200 mounted on the rear wall 20I- of the printing machine 40 directly rearwardly of the printing position, and the main housing 200 has a guideway member 202 associated therewith so as to rest upon the table top T andextend therealong toward the printing position to act as a guide for the movements of the paper holder 42. The actuating mechanism for attaining the desired movements of the paper holder is, in the present instance, enclosed mainly within the housing 200 and is operatively connected to the paper holder 42 by means such as a flexible rack 203 which extends along the guideway 202. The actuating mechanism of the lister 40 is driven from the drive means of the platen mechanism P so as to be operated in timed relation to the operation of the platen. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, this driving action is-effected by a drive link 205 connected at its rear end'toan upwardly projecting operating lever 206 of the lister actuating mechanism and operatively associated at its forward endwith the actuating-arm I35 of the platen mechanism. .As shown in Figs. 3 and 20 such connection of the forward-end of the link 205 is provided by a headedstud'201 which is extended through a longitudinal slot 208 in the forward portion of the link 205. The arrangement is such that as the actuating arm I35 moves forwardly to operate the platen mechanism through its idle or forward stroke, the stud 201 acts against the forward end of the slot 208 so that the link 205 is also drawn forwardly to rock the lever 206 in a forward direction, and the mechanism enclosed within the housing 200 is thereby operated to shift the rack 203 in a rearward direction. Such shifting movement of the rack 203 is accurately controlled so that for each operation of the platen mechanism P the paper holder 42 is advanced in a rearward direction through the desired line spacing movement. When the operator wishes to impart a similar line spacing movement to the paper holder 42 without operation of the platen mechanism P, a handle 209 on the forward end of the link 205 may be grasped and the link may be manually withdrawn in a forward direction. The length of the slot 208 is such that it limits such manual movement to a stroke which is the same as the stroke imparted to the link 205 by the arm I35, and hence an accurate line spacing movement of the paper holder may be attained manually.

The paper holder 42, as herein shown, comprises a mounting arm 2l0 adapted to overlie the top of the guideway 202, and a cross frame 2| l extends at right angles 'from the mounting arm 2 l0. The cross frame 2 has spaced paper clamps 2l2 thereon which project in a forward direction and are adapted to engage a bordering edge of a sheet of paper to clamp the sheet to the paper holder. The form of the guideway 202 is such as to facilitate mounting and guiding of the mounting arm 210 thereon, and as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, the guideway 202 com-,

prises a bottom plate 2l5 having a spacer plate 2|6 secured along each of the outer edges of its upper face, and flange plates 2l'l are secured on the tops of the spacer plates 2I6 so as to project toward each other beyond the spacer plates 2|6 and thereby define inwardly facing grooves 218 beneath the flange plates Zn. The mounting arm MD has a plurality of flanged rollers 2l9, Figs. 23 and 28, mounted on its lower face and these rollers US are arranged so that the flanges thereof engage in the grooves 2| 8 to hold the mounting arm H and the paper holder 42 in a predetermined relation to the guideway 202 as the paper holder is advanced along the guideway. As shown in Figs. 23 and 28, three rollers 2I9 are employed, and the central one of these rollers is mounted on a spring biased arm 2 l9 which holds this roller 2I9 against one side of the guideway 202 and maintains the other two rollers in contact with the other side of the guideway. The

connection between the mounting arm 2I0 of the paper holder and the flexible rack 205 is preferably releasable in character, and for this purpose an upstanding stud 220 is provided on the forward end of the flexible rack 205 in a position to engage with a complemental opening formed in the rear end of the mounting arm 2 I0.

The paper clamps 2|2 each comprise a pair of jaws mounted for rocking movement on a shaft 2 l I mounted on the cross member 2| I as shown in Figs. 23 to 28. A spring 2I2' acting between the rearwardly projecting ends of the jaws urges the forward ends of the jaws together so that a sheet or form F may be clamped therebetween. The rear end of the lower jaw rests on an inturned flange 2H of the cross member, and when the jaws are to be released, a cam shaft 2I2 mounted on the cross member 2 is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 24, to press the rear end of the upper jaw downwardly and thereby raise the forward end of the upper jaw to its released or open position. The cam shaft 2l2" may be operated manually to clamp and unclamp the paper, or in accordance with the present invention the unclamping action may be attained automatically. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1 the unclamping is attained manually, and to this end the cam shaft 2l2 has an operating arm 22l fixed thereto which may be pressed rearwardly and downwardly to unclamp the paper clamps 2l2, and the arm 22l remains in its depressed position and the clamps 282 remain unclamped until another arm 222 on the cam shaft is pressed forwardly and downwardly to return the cam to its original position and cause clamping of the paper clamps 2l2. The clamps 2 are adjustable along the cross member 2i I, thereby to, facilitate the clamping of sheets of varying widths on the paper holder, and this construction is described in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 410,097 filed September 8, 1941. The proper positioning of a sheet or form F in the paper clamps 2I2 is preferably facilitated by a paper guide 223 fixed on a mounting bar 224 extending along the forward edge 43' of the printing machine frame. The paper guide 223 extends rearwardly along the table top T to an extent sufficient to act as a guide against which the edge of the sheet may be pressed in the course of a sheet mounting operation. The means for automatically releasing the clamps 2I2 are illustrated in Figs. 2 and 23 to 2'7, and such automatic means will be described in detail upon completion of the description of the other features of structure and operation of the lister.

The main housing 200 of the lister 4! is formed from a pair of vertically positioned side frames 23!; and 23l which ar plate-like in character and are flanged toward each other about their edges. A removable cover plate 23l extends between the rear flanges and a portion of the upper flanges of the side frames 230 and 23l, thereby to cooperate with the side frames in affording a housing. The two side frames 230 and 23! are connected into a rigid assembly by a plurality of connecting shafts or rods which serve not only to space the two side frames 230 and 23l apart but also to support various operative mechanisms within the housing. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, three transverse shafts 232, 233 and 234 are disposed at spaced points along and adjacent to the upper edges of the side frames, and the ends of these shafts extend through appropriate openings as 235 in the side frames so that the screw threaded outer ends of the shafts extend into enlarged cylindrical sockets 236 formed about the outer ends of the openings 235. Cylindrical nuts 231 are threaded onto the ends of the shafts 232, 233 and 234 within the sockets 236 to draw the side frames vertically against spacing means such as spacing sleeves associated with or formed on the cross shafts. Adjacent to the lower edge of the housing three transverse or cross shafts 242, 243 and 244 are similarly extended between two side frames 230 and 23 l, and intermediate the upper and lower edges another shaft 245 is also mounted in a similar manner. a

The rigid housing assembly which is thus provided is mounted on the rear wall 20| of the printing machine frame, and for this purpose the side frames 2 30 and 23| have oppositely extending mounting feet 248 and 249 formed thereon near-the lower edges of the side frame members. Th mounting feet 248 and 249 have forwardly projecting flanges 248 and 209' which are arranged to rest upon the upper edge of a horizontal mounting bar 250 fixed to the rear surface of the rear wall 20!. Spaced upwardly from the mounting foot 249 the side frame 23! has a headed'stud 25! which is threaded in a horizontal position into the forward edge of the side frame 23!. The head 252 of the stud 25! is adapted to be extended through the enlarged end of a horizontal locating keyhole slot 253, after which the entire lister housing 200 is moved in a' right hand direction with respect to the machine, or in other words in an upward direction as shown in Fig. 6 of the-drawings, to thereby interlock the head 252 with the narrow portion of the slot 253. A knurled nut 254 positioned on the threaded stud 25! may then be tightened against the outer or rear face of the rear wall 20!. The relation of the head 252 to th lister housing 200 may be adjusted by rotation of the screw threaded stud 25! and such adjustment may be preserved'by a lock knot 255 mounted on the stud 25! and adapted to be drawn into firm engagement with the rear edge of the side frame 23!. During the movements required to engage the stud 25! with thekey hole slot 253 the major portion of the weight of the lister housing 200 maybe supported by resting the flanges 248 and 249' on the mounting bar 250. After the engagement of the stud 25! with the key. hole .slot 253 has been completed, securing screws 258 carried permanently in the mounting feet 248 and 249 may be screwed into threaded openings 259 formed at appropriate positions in the mounting bar 250.

The adjustment of th length or relat on of the stud 25! is utilized to locate the housing 200 in such a position that the guide member 202 will be parallel to and rest upon the table top T. The guide member 202 is preferably detachably related to the house 200 and such a connection is afforded by a mounting plate 260 which, as shown in Figs. 5, 7, 8 and 13, is located in rabbeted grooves 26! formed in the inturned flanges which are formed along the upper edges of the side frames 230 and 23!. The mounting plate 260 is held in position by screws 262 and the plate extends from the forward ends of the two side frames for a substantial distance rearwardly therealong, so that the rear edge of the mounting plate 260 is disposed just forwardly and downwardly of the forward edge of the cover plate 23!, as shown in Fig. 5. The mounting plate 260 i has a pair of upstanding parallel guide ribs 263 which are so spaced from each other that'the guide member.202 may be fitted snugly therebetween. Near the rear ends of the ribs263 enlarged bosses 264 are provided for the formation of vertically positioned screw threaded bores therein, and clamping screws 265 threaded into these bores have clamping flanges 256- thereon which are adapted to engage the upper surfaces of the guide member 202 to clamp theguide member firmly in position in the space'between the two ribs 263.

As will be evident in Figs, 7 and 8, the flexible rack 203 is located in the guide member 202 so that the bordering edge portions of the flexible rack are extended into the two grooves 2!8 of the guide member 202, and thereby the rack 203 is confined in such a manner as to prevent flexure or bending of that portion'of .the rack 203.which i located within the guide member 7% shipon the sleeve 280-by aplurality of tie rods 202. -It will also be evident however that the flexible rack 203 extends rearwardly out of and beyond the rear end'of the guide member 202, and actuating means are provided within the housing 200 to impart the desired longitudinal movements to the rack and through the rack to the paper holder 42. In accordance with present invention such movements are imparted to the rack 203 in bothdirections longitudinally of the rack, and this end is attained through the employment of actuating means which is so connected and related to the flexible rack that the rack may act in tension to advance the paper holder 4-2 in a rearward advancing or line spacing direction or may act in compression to actuate the paper holder forwardly of the printing machine to return the paper holder to its loading position. In attaining this result the rack 203 i 'extended from the rear end of the guidemember 262 and into operative engagement with a sprocket 210 which is mounted in fixed relation upon a rotatable cross shaft 21! journaled in the side frames 230 and 23!. The sprocket 210 is so formed and positioned that its teeth 212 may engage spaced openings 213 formed in a longitudinal row in the flexible rack 203 adjacent to one ide edge thereof. Such engagement of the opening 213 of the rack 203 with the teeth 212 of the sprocket is governed by guide means which engage-bordering edges of the upper and lowerfaces of the rack 203 rearwardly of the rear end of the guideway 202 to thereby confine and guide the rack 203 in a manner similar to the guiding action of the groove 2! 8 of the guide member 202. To this end a pair of guide disks 215 are mounted in coaxialrelation with the sprocket 210 and on opposite sides of the sprocket in such a relation that the bordering edges of the lower face of the rack 203 may be engaged with the two disk 215, and guide plate '216 which are generally crescent shaped, as shown in Fig. 8, are disposed adjacent to the outer or remote sides of the disks 215 so that inturned bordering flanges 211 formed along the upper or outer edges of the guid plates 216 may, at least at certain points therealong, engage with the bordering edges of the upper face of the flexible rack 203. ing for the crescent shaped plates 216-is afforded by the cross shafts 233 and 243 which extend through the plates 216 adjacent the opposite ends thereof, spacing means, such as the spacing sleeves 218 and 219 shown in Fig. 6 a being mounted on the shaft 233,being provided on both of the supporting shafts 233 and 243 to hold the plates 216 in position thereon. Thus the outer edges of the guide disks 215 and the flanges 211 of the guide plates 216 cooperate to guide the flexible rack 203 and maintain the same in en'- gagement with the teeth 212 of the rack at a predetermined radial distance from the axis of the sprocket 210.

The sprocket 210 and the two guide disks 215 are, together with other elements which will hereinafter be described, mounted in a non-rotative relationship to each other upon a sleeve 280. The sleeve 280 has a flange 28! at its left hand end, as shown in Fig. 12, and the several elements carried thereby, including the sprocket 210 and the two disks 215, are held in the desired spaced relation along with the balance of the sleeve 280 by spacer members 282. The element which are thus arranged on the sleeve 280-are held in the desired assembled relation- The desired stationary mount- 234 which extend through these elements and through the flange 28I of the sleeve; and the sleeve 233 is secured in a non-rotative relationship upon the shaft 2' by a plurality of pins 285.

When the paper holder 42 is to be moved through a line spacing movement in a rearward advancing direction, the power or actuating force is applied directly through thefiexible rack 203, since by this arrangement the flexible rack may be constructed so as to govern the length of each of such line spacing movements. Thus the flexible rack 203 may constitute the only element which requires replacement when a different line spacing movement is desired. To this end the flexible rack 203, as shown in Fig. 22 of the drawings, is formed with a plurality of openings 293 spaced longitudinally thereof in amounts which are equal to the desired line spacing movements. Thus the line spacing dimension is indicated at 29! in Fig, 22. The openings 2% are located in that area of the flexible rack which is between the row of openings 273 and the most remote side edge of the rack, and since the openings 29!] are intended to be engaged by an actuating pawl mechanism, these openings are preferably arranged alternately in two rows as will be evident in Fig. 22.

The actuating pawl mechanism which i engageable with the openings 29!] of the flexible rack is, in the present instance, driven by the actuating lever 206, as will hereinafter be described in detail, and the pawl mechanism includes a rocker arm 330 extending radially from a mounting sleeve ZGI carried on the shaft 211 just to the right of the sleeve 283, as shown in Fig. 12 of the drawings. The rocker arm 300 has a mounting head 392 which extends to the left, as viewed in Fig. 12, from the outer end of the arm, and at it left hand end the head 332 is flanged radially inwardly at 363 so that a pawlmounting shaft 304 may extend from the flange 383 to the arm 33!] parallel tothe shaft 2'! l. The mounting shaft 364 has a pair of pawls 395 mounted thereon so that the ends thereof may be engaged with the openings 290 of the flexible rack to impart rearward or advancing movement to the rack and the paper holder, and coil springs 396 acting between the head 302 and the pawls 335 urge the pawls 335 toward such engagement.

The actuating lever 263 is mounted for rocking movement on the cross shaft 232, and this lever is in the nature of a bell crank having an arm 3H] which extends generally horizontally and in a forward direction when the lever 236 is in its at rest position of Fig. 5. A link 3 has one of its ends pivoted at 3l2 to the end of arm 3H), and the other end of the link 3| I is pivoted at 353 to the pawl-carrying rocker arm 38!). The parts of this drive mechanism are urged to the normal or at rest relationship shown in Fig. 5 by a coil spring 3M which acts between the cross shaft 242 and a spring anchor 3| 5 fixed on a downwardly projecting arm 3H5 of the lever 205.

It will be observed that the normal or at rest position of the lever 263, Figs. 3 and 5, is attained when the actuating arm I35 of the platen mechanism P returns in a rearward direction to its at rest position shown in Fig. 3, and which position is assumed at the end of a cycle of operation of the platen mechanism. When a new cycle of operation of the platen mechanism P is initiated the arm I35 rocks in a counter-clockwise direction so as to withdraw the actuating link 205 in a forward direction. The lever 203 is thereby rocked from the position shown in Fig. 5 toward the position shown in Fig. 14, and it will be observed that during such movement the arm 3) and the link 3 act as a toggle. Hence the maximum stroke which may be applied to the pawl carrying arm 300 is determined by the toggle 3lll-3l l, for although in some instances the toggle may move through and beyond its fully extended position, the maximum throw of the pawl carrying arm 330 will in such instances remain unchanged. The end of the actuating link 205 is assoicated with the lever 236 by means including a stud 320 which may be adjustably fixed in different positions along a slot 32! formed in the lever 206. The stud 320 is left in position in the lever 206 when the link 205 is to be disconnected from the printing machine, the operative relationship being established by means of a downwardly facing slot 322 formed in the link 235 so as to be adapted to be engaged or hooked over the stud 320. A detent spring 323 carried on the link 205 engages the stud 323 to maintain the slot 322 in engagement with the stud.

The adjustment of the stud 320 along the slot 32f determines the initial or at rest position of the lever 296, and consequently this adjustment also determines the at rest position of the pawl carrier 33%. In the event that such adjustment of the stud 320 causes the stroke of the link 235 to actuate the toggle 3l03|l through and beyond its fully extended position, it will be evident that such movement beyond the fully extended position is ineffective to cause undesired advanc ing movement of the flexible rack and the paper holder.

When the pawl carrier 300 is in its at rest position shown in Figs. 5, 8 and 12 it is desirable that the pawls 305 be rendered inactive, thereby to permit movement of the flexible rack in a reverse or return direction. This end is attained through the provision of a shield carrier 333 mounted on a sleeve 33! which is carried on the shaft 2' between the sleeve 283 and the side frame 230. The shield carrier 333 is flanged at 332 so as to extend to the right as shown in Fig.

' 1.2 to a point such that a shield 333 carried on the shield carrier 330 may be located between the pawls 3G5 and the flexible rack 233. The shield carrier 333 is arranged for adjustment about the axis of the shaft 2' to a position wherein the shield 333 will underlie and disable the pawls 305 when the pawl carrier 303 is in its at rest position. The shield carrier 330 is held in such an adjusted position by a stud 334 which projects therefrom through an arcuate slot 335 in the side frame 233 and which has a clamp nut 333 threaded on its outer end.

The adjustment of the shield carrier 333 is utilized in facilitating the adjustment of the stud 32 (i, and this end is attained by the provision of a downwardly extending ear 331 formed on the flange 3513 of the pawl carrier 3%. This ear 331 is arranged to engage with a surface 338 formed on the portion 332 of the shield carrier 333. With this arrangement-the shield carrier 330 may, while the link 2135 is disconnected, be adjusted in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Figs. 5 and 8 until the left hand edge of the shield 333 is relatively close to the normal at rest location of an opening 293 of the flexible rack 233, and in such movement of the shield carrier 333 the edge 338 of the shield carrier engages the ear 33? of the pawl carrier 338, thereby to similarly move the pawl carrier and maintain the pawls 305 in engagement with the shield 333. 

